Spring clip form tie



March 8, 1966 N. c. BRADY 3,238,582

SPRING CLIP FORM TIE Filed Feb. 19,- 1964 v MENTOR Moe/14,44 C 5/7/1 @IWM United States Patent Ofitice 3,238,582 Patented Mar. 8, 1966 3,238,582 SPRING CLIP FORM TIE Norman (3. Brady, 780 Algonquin Ave., Mount Royal, Quebec, Canada Filed Feb. 19, 1964, Ser. No. 346,044 Claims priority, application Canada, Dec. 14, 1963, 891,283 4 Claims. (Cl. 24-31) This invention relates to a form tie.

With the double form tie now used widely, the wire, offset to maintain wall spacing, tends to straighten out with the weight of pour. This increases the width of the wall by as much as one-half inch beyond the specified width, increasing the quantity of cement required over the estimated amount.

An aim of the present invention is to provide a tie which maintains the specified wall width while pouring the concrete and which also includes a positive break off feature permitting pointing to provide a guaranteed waterproof wall.

A form tie, according to the invention, includes a single tie wire which is adapted to extend from one side to the other of the formwork, having intermediate stop means to engage the form sheeting at each side of the vform to space it apart. Each end of the tie wire is provided with spring clip means adapted tohold it in engagement with the form upright and sheeting. More specifically, each end of the tie wire may be a connecting structure including a perpendicularly extending shoulder adapted to extend across the form upright and extending from the other end of the shoulder a hook-ended spring clip part adapted to be sprung over and hooked to the form sheeting to hold the tie in place. The connecting structure positively anchors the tie to the upright, urges the sheeting and upright together, and urges the sheeting against the stop means providing constant and accurate spacing apart of the sheeting whether free or under load of the poured concrete.

The clip part may include an arm extending inwardly of the tie from the other end of the shoulder just long enough to extend from the outside of the upright to the inside of the form sheeting and is provided on its inner end with a hook to engage the inner side of the form sheeting. The arm is resiliently biased away from the body so that it normally extends outwardly from its in-use position parallel to the body so that when it is pulled into the in-use position its resilient bias causes its hook to be urged against the inside of the form sheeting and thus engage it firmly and stresses the tie from the stop means right about the upright to the hook on the spring arm.

The spring clip tie, according to the invention, provides a guaranteed break off feature three-quarters of an inch inside each side of the wall permitting pointing to provide a guaranteed waterproof wall. With the use of a spring type of wire the strength of the tie can be guaranteed for a minimum of 3000 pounds pressure. No tools are required for form building, it clips on.

The invention has been generally described and it will now be referred to in more detail by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments and in which FIGURE 1 is a top plan view showing a preferred form tie according to the invention in released position prior to use.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the form tie shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the form tie in use.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary type plan view showing an alternative form of end for the form tie.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the preferred form tie according to the invention is made from a single length of heavy steel wire to include an elongated straight body 15 having at one end a shoulder 17 and at the other a shoulder 19, the shoulders extending at right angles to the body. The shoulder 17 is provided with a spring arm 21 constituting a clip extending inwardly to be normally parallel to the body 15 but biased away from the body 15 as shown in FIGURE 1. Likewise, the shoulder 19 is provided with an arm 23 extending normally parallel to the body 15 but biased away from it. The arms 21 and 23 are provided with hooked ends 22 and 24 respectively.

The body 15 is provided with spacing washers 25 and 27 spaced from the respective shoulders 17 and 19, a distance to equal the width of the uprights and sheeting in a concrete form. These washers can be of the deformable type which bite into the wire or can be welded to it. Just inside the spacing washers 25 and 27 respectively are break off indents 31 and 33 and inside the break ofi indents are crimps 35 and 37.

FIGURE 3 shows the preferred form tie in use. In this figure, 41 and 43 represent the sheeting on a concrete form mounted on upright two-by-fours 45 and 47. A form tie is placed so that the washers 25 and 27 bear against the insides of the sheeting 41 and 43 with the body 15 resting on the top edge of the sheeting. The part of the body outside the washers 25 and 27, the shoulders 17 and 19 and the arms 21 and 23 surround the two-by-fours and the hooks 22 and 24 on the arms 21 and 23 extend over and are hooked to the insides of the sheeting 41 and 43. The resilient bias of the arms 21 and 23 tends to pull the hooks 22 and 24 against the boards 41 and 43 respectively and to hold the form tie firmly in place. Also the tie between the washer 25 about the two-by-four 45 and through to the hook 22 is stressed so that the tie, the two-by-four and the sheeting are firmly hooked together with the sheeting against the washer 25 to provide for its accurate spacing from the opposed sheeting which is likewise bound.

An alternative end design is shown in FIGURE 4 in which similar numbers have been given to the parts as in the previous figures but raised by 100. In this construction, the arm 121 instead of being continuously curved from its junction to the shoulder 117 extends in a straight part 121a to connect it to another straight part 121b which extends outwardly from it at an angle. When the part 121b is brought into the position of FIG- URE 4 with its hook 122 engaging the inside of a form 141, the resilient bias given by the fact that it is angled from the part 121a causes it to tend to pull away from its position on the form and thus for the hook 122 to engage more firmly the inside of the form 141. The other end of the form tie can be made similarly.

It will be understood that variations can be made in the construction. Other types of non-integral spacers can replace the washers 25 and 27 if desired.

I claim:

1. A form tie made from a single piece of heavy wire including an elongated body adapted to extend from one side of a form to the other and having spacing means separating a part which lies between sheeting of the form and parts which are juxtaposed to uprights of the form, a shoulder extending at right angles from each end of the body, and an arm extending inwardly from the other end of each shoulder and being resiliently biased away from the body but adapted to be brought parallel to the body and a hook on the end of each arm for engaging the inside of the form sheeting thereby to retain the arm in position against an upright, the resilient biasing forc- 3 ing the hook on the arm against the sheeting to retain it in place.

2. A form tie in the configuration of three sides of a rectangle with resilient arms extending from free ends of two sides-of the rectangle and which sides and arms are constituted by a single piece of heavy wire, including an intermediate side adapted to extend from one side of a form to the other, spacing means separating a first part of said intermediate side, which first part lies between sheeting of the form, from second parts at opposite ends of said intermediate side which second parts are juxtaposed to uprights of the form, two further sides extending transversely of said intermediate side from each end thereof, and said arms which extend from each of said further sides towards one another, the arms having an initial position in which the spacing between at least a portionof each said arm and said intermediate side increases with increasing distance from the adjacent further side whereby the arms have properties of resilience imparted thereto in excess of that inherent in the wire, and the arms being adapted to be sprung to positions in which they are aligned with one another and parallel to said intermediate side with said arms, said second parts and said further sides encompassing said uprights, and a hook on the end of each arm for engaging the inside of the form sheeting thereby to retain the arms in position against the uprights, the hooks being forced against the sheeting by the tendency of each arm to return to its said initial position.

3. A form tie in the configuration of three sides of a rectangle with resilient arms extending from free ends of two sides of the rectangle and which sides and arms are constituted by a single piece of heavy wire, including an intermediate side adapted to extend from one side of a form to the other, spacing means separating a first part of said intermediate side, which first part lies between sheeting of the form, from second parts at opposite ends of said intermediate side which second parts are juxtaposed to uprights of the form, two further sides extending transversely of said intermeidate side from each end thereof, and said arms which extend from each of said further sides towards one another, the arms having an initial position in which the spacing between at least a portion of each said arm and said intermediate side increases with increasing distance from the adjacent further side whereby the arms have properties of resilience imparted thereto in excess of that inherent in the wire, and the arms being adapted to be sprung to positions in which they are aligned with one another and parallel to said intermediate side with said arms, said second parts and said further sides encompassing said uprights, and an end portion on the end of each said arm bent back through an obtuse angle to form hooks for engaging the inside of the form sheeting to retain the arm in position against an upright, the hooks being forced against the sheeting by the tendency of each arm to return to its said initial position.

4. A form tie in the configuration of three sides of a rectangle with resilient arms extending from free ends of two sides of the rectangle and which sides and arms are constituted by a single piece of heavy wire, including an intermediate side adapted to extend from one side of a form to the other, spacing means separating a first part of said intermediate side, which first part lies between sheeting of the form, from second parts atopposite ends of said intermediate side which second parts are juxtaposed to uprights of the form, two further sides extending transversely of said intermediate side from each end thereof and said arms being curved and extending from each of said further sides towards the arm extending from the other further side, each arm having an initial position in which it curves away from said intermediate side so that the spacing between each arm and the intermediate side steadily increases with decreasing distance from the free end of each arm whereby properties of resilience are imparted to said arms in excess of the resilient properties inherent in the wire, and the arms being adapted to be sprung to positions in which they are aligned with one another and parallel to said intermediate side with said arms, said second parts and said further sides encorn passing said uprights, and an end portion on the end of each said arm bent back through an obtuse angle to form hooks for engaging the inside of the form sheeting to retain the arm in position against an upright, the hooks being forced against the sheeting by the tendency of each arm to return to its said initial position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 441,003 11/1890 Gregg 25648 1,785,061 12/1930 White 189-35 X 2,355,767 8/1944 White 189-35 X 2,608,219 8/1952 McDaniel.

3,016,596 1/1962 Tisdale. 7 3,055,686 9/1962 Havener 189-35 X FOREIGN PATENTS 508,055 12/1954 Canada. 125,498 7/ 1949 Sweden.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Examiner. 

1. FORM TIE MADE FROM A SINGLE PIECE OF HEAVY WIRE INCLUDING AN ELONGATED BODY ADAPTED TO EXTEND FROM ONE SIDE OF A FORM TO THE OTHER AND HAVING SPACING MEANS SEPARATING A PART WHICH LIES BETWEEN SHEETING OF THE FORM AND PARTS WHICH ARE JUXTAPOSED TO UPRIGHTS OF THE FORM, A SHOULDER EXTENDING AT RIGHT ANGLES FROM EACH END OF THE BODY, AND AN ARM EXTENDING INWARDLY FORM THE OTHER END OF EACH SHOULDER AND BEING RESILIENTLY BIASED AWAY FROM THE BODY BUT ADAPTED TO BE BROUGH PARALLEL TO THE BODY AND A HOOK ON THE END OF EACH ARM FOR ENGAGING THE INSIDE OF THE FORM SHEETING THEREBY TO RETAIN THE ARM IN POSITION AGAINST AN UPRIGHT, THE RESILIENT BIASING FORCING THE HOOK ON THE ARM AGAINST THE SHEETING TO RETAIN IT IN PLACE. 